About Me

Although I haven't gotten a western made yet, there's interest in a western series I've created (on paper). If you'd like to take a look at the sort of things I write, please visit my website, www.henrycparke.com. Thanks for looking!

MY Q&A WITH INSP-TV

HENRY ON ‘WRITER’S BLOCK’

On July 30th, 2015, I was the guest of hosts Bobbi Jean Bell and Jim Christina on ‘Writer’s Block’, their L.A. TALK-RADIO talk-show about the art and craft of writing. You can click PLAY to hear it, or DOWNLOAD to download it.

ROUND-UP ON THE RADIO!

Last Christmastime I was a guest on AROUND THE BARN, and had a great time talking about the Round-up, my writing, and Gene Autry’s Christmas music. To listen, click HERE.

Other Stuff I Write

While this blog is strictly about Western stuff, I also write another blog, Stalling Tactics, which is about anything else. If you'd like to read my most recent post, COSTUME DRAMA TRAUMA, go HERE.

Sunday, November 13, 2016

After watching Ethan
Hawke gamely slog through the bloated and rambling MAGNIFICENT 7 reboot, it’s a
pleasure to see him given a real chance to act again, in the small but
ambitious new Western, IN A VALLEY OF VIOLENCE, now in theatres and available
on Amazon, iTunes and Vudu. It’s written
and directed by the aptly named Ti West, better known for horror films –
V/H/S/, HOUSE OF THE DEVIL – than oaters, but he makes a strong impression in
his first stab at the genre.

James Ransome

Hawke plays Paul, a
troubled drifter headed to Mexico with his horse and dog, whose stop for
provisions in a small town turns into a nightmare. Gilly (James Ransome), the town bully with
delusions of grandeur, tries to draw Paul into a fight, which leads to a
hateful act I’ll not reveal, and Paul’s subsequent quest for revenge. Here Paul comes into conflict with the town’s
Marshal (John Travolta), who was urban the last time he was a cowboy. He's sympathetic to Paul, but he’s also Gilly’s
father.

John Travlota

A couple of young
ladies, sisters running the hotel, feature prominently: beautiful red-headed
Ellen (Karen Gillan of DR. WHO and SELFIE) is Gilly’s girlfriend, who sees his
shortcomings, but considers him the only man in town with a future. Her younger sister Mary-Anne (Taissa Farmiga)
is less self-absorbed, and attracted to Paul as a man, and as a way to get out
of the town.

Hawke with Taissa Farmiga

The action is exciting,
the plotting sensible, the performances uniformly strong – West knows very well
how to create characters and structure dramatic scenes, adding humor without
getting cute. There’s a particularly
nice extended conversation between Paul and Mary-Anne, where both excel –
especially the quirkily frantic but endearing Farmiga.

It’s a good film,
although not notably original. The bully
son of the prominent townsman wasn’t exactly new in ’55 when Anthony Mann used
it so well against Jimmy Stewart in THE MAN FROM LARAMIE, and it became an
annoying familiar cliché on episodic TV. You can argue whether the opening, feature a
fine turn by Burn Gorman as a man of the cloth, is an homage or a steal from
the opening of THE SHOOTIST. But what is
inarguable is that the scene takes twice as long here as it does in the Wayne
film: virtually every sequence in this film is a bit too long, a few much too long. West is his own editor: he needs to turn the
scissors over to someone a bit more ruthless.

Also, the town is too
underpopulated. At one point, one of the
sisters comments that she’s not a whore, and if that’s what you want, you can
find it at the saloon. But we never see
a whore, or saloon girl, or any female other than the sisters in the entire
film. Similarly, Travolta’s Marshal worries
about his position in the town if he should let anything bad happen to his
son. But the town appears to consist of
less people than you can count on your fingers.
It would work if it were said humorously, or if he was a madman
presiding over a ghost town, but clearly there just wasn’t the budget for
extras.

The music score by
West’s frequent collaborator Jeff Grace is at times Morricone-derivative but
effective. The cinematography by Eric
Robbins is handsome, and his exteriors evoke Andrew Wyeth paintings. Particularly striking are the costumes by
Malgosia Turzanska, who did the same chores on the excellent HELL OR HIGH
WATER. The Blumhouse Film is expected to go to disk on December 27th.

AUTRY’S INDIAN
MARKETPLACE DRAWS HUGE CROWDS

This Saturday and
Sunday tremendous crowds once again descended on The Autry for the annual American Indian Arts Marketplace, where two-hundred
artists from over forty tribes presented their work under an immense tent. Painting, sculpture, jewelry, textiles –
every medium and every form imaginable were included. Among my personal favorites were a marble
bison carved by Robert Dale Tsosie, traditional Hopi carved figures by Bendrew
Atokuku, and the first prize for sculpture, an irornwork by Jason Reed Brown.

Outside of the tent, in
addition to art and craft demonstrations and fry bread, there were kiosks with
informative representatives for different concerns. Kenneth Van Wey of the U.S. Department of the
Interior Indian Arts and Crafts Board (I.A.C.B.) was eager to discuss the problem
of fraudulent ‘Indian art’, and the Indian
Arts and Crafts Act passed in 1990, which forbids passing off as ‘Indian
Made’ any art from a different source.
The problem is widespread. Pendleton Woolen Mills recently reached a
settlement for misleading labeling of blankets as “Indian Product.” Part of the settlement includes Pendleton donating over forty-thousand
dollars to the Red Cloud Indian School’s Heritage Center in South Dakota. Also, coordinated searches and seizures were
made in New Mexico, California, and the Philippines, leading to the arrest of
three New Mexicans for trying to sell Filipino jewelry as Indian-made. Learn more at www.doi.gov/iacb

Kenneth Van Wey

At the next tent, Jim
Davis of TLC, the nonprofit The Language
Conservancy, reminded me that starting in 1879, it was official U.S. policy
to try to erase Native American language, a policy that lasted in some cases
into the 1990s. As a result, 90% of
Native American speakers are over 65; the languages are disappearing. TLC’s mission is to save the many Native
American languages by teaching them to the children of the various tribes at
their reservation schools, as well as beyond the reservation. To this end, they’ve produced dictionaries
and teaching programs in Crow, Lakota, Dakota, Hidatsa, and other
languages. They’ve dubbed Berenstein Bears videos into
Cherokee! They’re active in the Dakotas,
Oklahoma, Minnesota and elsewhere. You
can learn more at their website, http://www.languageconservancy.org/

The next booth belonged
to our local independent station, KCET, who are marking Native American Heritage Month
with a new short documentary series, TENDING THE WILD, which they are producing
in collaboration with The Autry. It’s available
both digitally and on TV, and can be seen at The Autry as part of the California Continued exhibit. Subjects include GATHERING MEDICINE, CULTURAL
BURNING to prevent wildfires, and KEEPING THE RIVER, about the importance of
salmon for Indians of the Klamath River.
Other related documentaries include HEALING THE WARRIOR’S HEART which examines
the important role of military service in Native life, and tradition and
ceremonies’ roles in reintegrating soldiers into civilian life. You can learn more, and watch several of the
shows, here: https://www.kcet.org/category/native-american-heritage-month

Saginaw Grant

You never know who you’ll
run in to at these events, and I was delighted to meet Saginaw Grant, who plays
Chief Big Bear in the recent LONE RANGER movie, and Screaming Eagle in THE
RIDICULOUS 6. And he has seven more
projects in pre- or post-production. As
I was leaving, who was coming in but LONGMIRE star Zahn McClarnon, who was also
in last year’s BONE TOMAHAWK, and has a lead role in the upcoming AMC Western
series THE SON, starring with Pierce Brosnan.

Zahn and me

A WORD ON WESTERNS TUESDAY AT THE AUTRY!

This Tuesday, November 15th,
producer and Western historian Rob Word hosts his next A Word on Westerns event at the Wells Fargo Theater. This time the topic is MAKING WESTERNS –
STORIES BEHIND THE SCENES. Rob will be
looking at what skills and qualities makes for a convincing Western actor – the
ability to ride and shoot and wear a ten-gallon hat without looking like a
half-pint? Those sharing their opinions
and experiences will be Oscar-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr., whose Westerns
include THE SKIN GAME, BLACK
BART, BONANZA, and ROOTS; actress Rosemary Forsyth, whose starred in
SHENANDOAH, TEXAS ACROSS THE RIVER, and the series KUNG FU; and Norman Powell, who
produced LAZARUS MAN and GUNSMOKE movies, and was production manager on WANTED:
DEAD OR ALIVE, THE BIG VALLEY, and Sam Peckinpah’s THE WESTERNER. Doors open at 10:30! And head across the way for lunch and more
conversation after!

OKLAHOMA! SATURDAY NOV.
19TH AT THE AUTRY!

As part of their continuing
‘What is a Western?’ series, the Autry presents OKLAHOMA!, the 1956 film version
of the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein Musical that revolutionized the
Musical form in the way it told its story directly through song. Starring Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Rod
Steiger and Gloria Grahame, it’s directed by that master of the Western, Fred
Zinnemann, whose HIGH NOON will be shown in December. OKLAHOMA! will be introduced by Josh
Garrett-Davis, Gamble Assistant Curator of Western History, Popular Culture and
Firearms. The 35mm print will be
screened at 1:30 pm in the Wells Fargo Theater.

‘CALAMITY JANE’
ANIMATED FEATURE IN THE WORKS

Calamity Jane thinking of Lucky Luke

French animators Henri
Megalon and Remi Chaye, whose current animated feature, LONG WAY NORTH concerns
a Russian aristocratic girl searching for her grandfather, will next tackle the
extremely American story, CALAMITY JANE: A CHILDHOOD OF MARTHA JANE CANNARY, according
to Deadline: Hollywood. The film will
focus on Jane as a little girl who was orphaned at ten. As Chaye explained to DEADLINE:HOLLYWOOD’s
Anita Busch, lone women and girls in the western frontier had few options for
employment beyond laundry and prostitution, and some brave souls decided to try
and pass as men.

Calamity Jane thinking of Wild Bill, at his grave.

While the feminist angle
is certainly a hook, Calamity Jane is not a major pop-culture figure in the
U.S., despite the Doris Day musical, and the popular character in DEADWOOD,
played by Robin Weigert. But she’s a
much bigger character in Europe, because of the long-time popularity of the
Franco-Belgian comic strip LUCKY LUKE, which has been running since 1946, in
which she was a major character. Says
Chaye, “We knew her as kids. She is
part of the childhood of every French person.”

AND THAT’S A WRAP!

Luke Hemsworth

Soon I’ll be writing
about my visit to the set of ABILENE, a new Western about Wild Bill Hickok, starring
WESTWORLD’s Luke Hemsworth and Kris Kristoffereson, and my days at the American
Film Market, tracking down new Westerns.
I just found out that the RED NATION FILM FESTIVAL is going on right now
in Pasadena, and will continue through November 21st. You can find out more at their official
website: http://www.rednationff.com/

LATE BREAKING NEWS –
Just learned that lovely Lupita Tovar, one of the very last stars of early
talkies, has died at 106. Among her
several Westerns she co-starred with Gene Autry in SOUTH OF THE BORDER, and was
the female lead in Universal’s Spanish-language version of DRACULA.

Lupita and Gene

Happy trails,

Henry

All Original Content
Copyright November 2016 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Here is the first full
trailer for THE LEGEND OF BEN HALL, Matthew Holmes’ terrific Western about the
Bushranger who was Australian equivalent of America’s Jesse James. The parallels between the frontier periods of
both countries are fascinating. Interestingly,
this is actually the second
trailer. As you can read in my True West
article HERE, a Kickstarter campaign
raised the money to make the first trailer, which was used as a ‘proof-of-concept’
to raise the money for the feature itself!

MOMENTUM ACQUIRES
‘BRIMSTONE’ FOR MARCH RELEASE

Dakota Fanning

Writer/director Martin
Koolhoven’s dark Dutch Western BRIMSTONE, starring Dakota Fanning and Guy
Pearce, will hit U.S. theatres and VOD in March 2017. Pearce plays a vengeful preacher and Fanning
an innocent woman who goes on the run when framed for a crime. The sagebrush psychological
thriller was shot in Germany, Hungary, Tyrol Austria, and the Motherland of
Spaghetti Westerns, Almeria Spain. British-born
Pearce is no stranger to the genre, having cut his teeth on the Aussie SNOWY
RIVER: THE MCGREGGOR SAGA series, and made an indelible impression in the
Aussie Western feature THE PROPOSITION. Also
in the cast are GAME OF THRONE stars Kit Harington and Carice van Houten.

Guy Pearce

GET-TV ADDS ‘THE
OUTCASTS’ TO WEEKEND WESTERN LINE-UP!

Get-TV is adding the
1968 Western series THE OUTCASTS, starring Don Murray and Otis Young, to their
Saturday Western line-up. The one-season
hour-long drama features Murray as a former Confederate officer turned bounty
hunter, and Young as an ex-slave and Union soldier who partners with him. Don Murray first made a splash as Beau in BUS
STOP (1957), followed by HATFUL OF RAIN (1958), and his Westerns include THESE
THOUSAND HILLS (1958), FROM HELL TO TEXAS (1959), and his portrayal of Buffalo
Bill in the 1966 remake of THE PLAINSMAN.
Otis Young, a fine actor who rarely got the quality of roles he deserved,
soared when he was cast opposite Jack Nicholson and Randy Quaid in THE LAST
DETAIL (1973).

Don Murray & Otis Young

Get-TV has consistently
shown high quality short-run Western series that have rarely been seen since
their initial release – see my Round-up interview with Programming Veep Jeff
Meier HERE.

OUTCASTS is being added
to their current playlist, which includes Audie Murphy in WHISPERING SMITH,
CIMARRON CITY, TOMBSTONE TERRITORY, THE RESTLESS GUN, and LAREDO.

Keep your eye for the OUTCASTS
episode TAKE YOUR LOVER IN THE RING: it won a ‘Best Edited Television Program’ Eddie for Norman Colbert; Anthony
Lawrence’s script was nominated for a WGA Award; and Hugo Montenegro’s score was
nominated for an Emmy.

AMERICAN INDIAN ARTS
MARKETPLACE NOV. 12 & 13 AT THE AUTRY

If you care about
Indian art, this is an annual not-to-be-missed event! Two-hundred artists from over forty tribes
will be presenting their work in an immense tent. Painting, sculpture, jewelry,
textiles – every medium and every form imaginable. And it’s included with the price of museum
admission.

AND THAT’S A WRAP!

I’ll have plenty more
to tell you about in the next Round-up – the next Word of Westerns, an upcoming
animated Western, video reviews and more.

Baby Peggy

But I wanted to
acknowledge the birthdays of a pair of great silent film child stars. October 29th was the 98 birthday
of Baby Peggy, now called Diana Serra Cary, the still
wonderfully vital last of the silent stars, and author of THE HOLLYWOOD POSSE
and WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY PEGGY?

Coogan with Charlie Chaplin

in The Kid

And
the 26th would have been the 102nd birthday of Jackie
Coogan, who died in 1984. The
movies’ first great child star was the son of vaudevillians. Both stars sadly share the tragedy that they
were robbed blind by their parents, leaving them broke when childhood stardom
ended. ‘The Coogan Law’ was written to
protect kid actors. Jackie had a long
career, four kids, four wives – and one of them was Betty Grable! He became a star again in the ‘60s playing
Uncle Fester on THE ADDAMS FAMILY, but is best remembered by Western fans as Stoney
Crockett on COWBOY G-MEN. My mentor in
the film business, Saul David, was in the Army with Coogan during World War II,
and told me this story. Coogan was still
frequently recognized, and once, when they and several other soldiers were
showering, a soldier asked him, “Aren’t you Jackie Coogan?”

“Yes,” he replied, and
with a chuckle added, “Take a good look, kid.That’s the one that was in Betty

Grable.” The
soldier was so shocked at Coogan’s disrespect towards his own dreamgirl (and
Coogan’s ex-wife) that he threw a punch that knocked Coogan out cold!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents
Copyright November 1, 2016 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved